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Home My WebLink AboutCORRESPONDENCE - 85B�� TENANTS v. TOGETHER November 4th, 2019 Dear Santa Ana city council members, Tenants Together has been alerted by residents of your city that renters are facing mass evictions and rent increases before the state law Assembly Bill 1482, the law that bans no-fault evictions and curbs rent gouging, goes into effect on 1/l/2020. A temporary moratorium on no-fault evictions and rent gouging is needed now as property owners try to skirt the law in the coming year. Across the state as well as in your city, we are witnessing an unprecedented wave of greed and callousness by landlords. We urge you to take action now and protect tenants by passing the legislation that your constituents are calling for, and enacting a city-wide rent increase cap and no-fault eviction moratorium. Already, Los Angeles, Milpitas, Redwood City, Daly City, Santa Cruz, and Bell Gardens have passed similar protections, and many other cities are considering doing so as well. Tenants cannot use the protections in AB 1482 for their current housing if they are evicted or priced -out from their unit before the law is in effect. As California's statewide organization for renters' rights, Tenants Together is in support of the protections being proposed within your city by renters. We need a rent increase cap and no-fault eviction moratorium now! Sincerely, Digitally signed by Aimee Inglis DN: cn=Aimee Inglis, o=Tenants Together, ou, email=amee@cenantstogether.org, c=US Date: 2019.11.0416.53:36-08'00' Aimee Inglis, Program Director TENANTS TOGETHER California's Statewide Organization for Renters' Rights www.tenantstogether.org November 5, 2019 Latino Health Mayor Pulido and Members of the City Council Access City of Santa Ana L;j 20 Civic Center Plaza .d (cars P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: 856: Support —Urgency Ordinance for Tenant Protections 450 West Fourth Street Suite 130 Dear Santa Ana City Council and Mayor, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Ph: 714.542-7792 Latino Health Access is writing this letter in strong support of a temporary Urgency Fax: 714-542-4853 Ordinance for Tenant Protections while we await the implementation of the statewide lotinoheolthoccess.org Tenant's Protection Act (AB1482) to go into effect January 2020. The Urgency Ordinance establishes that rent increases in the city not exceed the local CPI of 3.3% from the date of signature of AB1482, October 8, 2019, to December 31, 2019. It also protects against evictions without just cause through December 31, 2019. The state law will provide protections from evictions without cause and excessive rent increases as of January 1, 2020. However, there is a 3-month gap between when the law was signed and when it goes into effect that has left many families in Santa Ana vulnerable to evictions without cause and excessive rent increases. Unfortunately, many landlords are seeing this window as a last opportunity to capitalize on charging higher rents, including measures to evict long time tenants in order to reset the amount of rent they can charge as of January. In the last 2 weeks, we have contacted 2,613 voters throughout the city, 1,273 feel that their local officials need to identify a solution to this problem, and 55% of those that are tenants told us they have experienced at least one rent increase in the last year. In our door-to-door conversations, we have heard stories of mass evictions and rent increases of over $500 from one month to another. An excessive increase and an eviction, can be destabilize an entire family, and when this becomes a larger scale problem our entire community is destabilized. Over 54% of residents in Santa Ana are tenants and 65% are already rent burdened. This totals 214, S00 of your constituents that are counting on you to protect their right to remain housed. We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holidays where families want to spend time with loved ones without the worry or fear of being evicted or not being able to pay rent. The Urgency Ordinance will provide that peace of mind that our families deserve. We urge you to join other cities like Los Angeles and Redwood City that have passed similar ordinances and protect tenants in Santa Ana by supporting the Urgency Ordinance. As there are new protections for Californians as of January 2020, we are simply urging you to close the time gap and move up the date these protections will go into effect in Santa Ana. We are working with attorneys at Public Law Center who have done extensive research on ordinance language, and are ready to work with City staff. Please do not hesitate to contact me at nmeiia@latinohealthacess.org or ext 1021 if you have any questions. Sincerely, YY � , YVAIV— Nancy ejia, MS , PH Director of Comm ty Engagement & Advocacy Programs PREVENTION EDUCATION ACTION PROPOSED URGENCY ORDINANCE FOR TENANT PROTECTIONS CONTACT INFORMATION Primary Contact: Nancy Mejia, Latino Health Access nmeiia@latinohealthaccess.org Organizations and Community Groups that have endorsed thus far: Public Law Center Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities Kennedy Commission CHISPA Vecindario Lacy en Accion (VeLA) Resilience OC PICO California Tenants Together PRIMARY INTENTIONS OF THE ORDINANCE: The intention of this ordinance it to set protections for tenants in Santa Ana from excess rent increases and evictions without cause while the statewide law AB1482 goes into effect. This ordinance would cover the 3 month gap from the date of signature of AB1482 to the date prior to implementation of the law. The ordinance consists of 2 main protections for tenants: 1. Prohibits rent increases that exceed the local Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.3% from October 9, 2019 to December 31, 2019 with exemptions (in accordance with the Costa Hawkins Act) to: • Residential real property built on or after February 1, 1995 or • Single-family dwellings or • Condominiums 2. Prohibit evictions without just cause from October 9, 2019 through December 31, 2019 as stated in the state law AB1482 PROBLEM: Tenants in Santa Ana have been facing a housing crisis, with rent costs and evictions consistently increasing. Currently, more than 54% of Santa Ana residents are tenants. According to the 2014-2021 Santa Ana Housing Element, the majority (56%) of all renter households are low-income and rent -burdened, meaning they are spending more than 30% of their income on rent. As a result, our families are forced to live in overcrowded conditions, suffer evictions, or become houseless. The recently signed state law AB1482 will provide protections from evictions without cause and excessive rent increases as of January 1, 2020. However, there is a 3-month gap between when the law was signed and when it goes into effect that has left many families in Santa Ana vulnerable to evictions without cause and excessive rent increases. Unfortunately, many landlords are seeing this window as a last opportunity to capitalize on charging higher rents, including measures to evict long time tenants in order to reset the amount of rent they can charge as of January. In the last 2 weeks, we have contacted 2,613 voters throughout the city, 1,273 feel that their local officials need to identify a solution to this problem, and 55% of those that are tenants told us they have experienced at least one rent increase in the last year. In our door-to-door conversations, we have heard stories of mass evictions and rent increases of over $500 from one month to another. PRIOR OR SIMILAR LEGISLATION • City of Los Angeles- Emergency Moratorium on Evictions • Redwood City- Urgency Ordinance Capping Rents and No -Cause Evictions • Daly City- Emergency Ordinance on No -Cause Evictions • City of Milpitas- Just Cause Emergency Ordinance Healtb Mayor Pulido and Members of the City Council c City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza >. P.Q. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: 8513: Support — Urgency Ordinance for Tenant Protections 450 West Fourth Street Suite 130 Dear Santa Ana City Council and Mayor, Ana, Santa Ana:; CA 4270 i Ph: 71 92 Latino Health Access, along with community residents and the groups listed below, is writing Fax: 714-542-4853 this letter in strong support of a temporary Urgency Ordinance for Tenant Protections while latinohealthaccess.org we await the implementation of the statewide Tenant's Protection Act (AB1482) to go into effect January 2020. The Urgency Ordinance establishes that rent increases in the city not exceed the local CPI of 3.3% from the date of signature of AB1482, October 8, 2019, to December31, 2019. It also protects against evictions without just cause through December 31, 2019. The state law will provide protections from evictions without cause and excessive rent increases as of January 1, 2020. However, there is a 3-month gap between when the law was signed and when it goes into effect that has left many families in Santa Ana vulnerable to evictions without cause and excessive rent increases. Unfortunately, many landlords are seeing this window as a last opportunity to capitalize on charging higher rents, including - measures to evict long time tenants in order to reset the amount of rent they can charge as of January. in the last 2 weeks, we have contacted 2,613 voters throughout the city, 1,273 feel that their local officials need to identify a solution to this problem, and 55% of those that are tenants told us they have experienced at least one rent increase in the last year. In our door-to-door conversations, we have heard stories of mass evictions and rent increases of over$500 from one month to another: An excessive increase and an eviction, can be destabilize an entire family, and when this " becomes a;larger scale problem our entire community is destabilized. Over 54% of residents in Santa Ana are tenants and 65% are already rent burdened. This totals 214, 500 of your constituents that are counting on you to protect their right to remain housed. We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holidays where families want to spend time with loved ones without the worry or fear of being evicted or not being able to pay rent. The Urgency Ordinance will provide that peace of mind that our families deserve. We urge you to join other cities like Los Angeles and Redwood City that have passed similar ordinances and protect tenants in Santa Ana by supporting the Urgency Ordinance. As there are new protections for Californians as of January 2020, we are simply urging you to close the time gap and move up the date these protections will go into effect in Santa Ana. e are working with attorneys at Public taw Center who have done extensive research on ordinance language, and are ready to work with City staff. Please do not hesitate to contact me at nmel-i_a_@Iatinohealthacess.org or ext 1021 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Nancy Meji- , MSWO MPH Director of Community Engagement & Advocacy Programs PREVENTION.. 450 West Fourth Street Suite 130 Santa Ana, CA 92701 Ph: 714-542-7792 Fax: 714-542-4853 latinohealthaccess.org sm M- Tenants Together I I I I i I Ili I •i i I E, iii I I• i Iff ii mmm�•� BE= .0 W